Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about the encampment again today, but I also want to talk about it from the perspective of the impacts on the community. And what I mean by that is the residents have to live next to them, businesses, and even in situations like such as yesterday, the museum, government, and other types of organizations, and private businesses in that. They have to be silenced. You can't have the museum director over here yelling do something here. No, government can't get away with that. But residents, let's start with that, Mr. Speaker. They have to listen to the noise. They have to deal with the mess. And, of course, as I said yesterday, liberated items that seem to go missing from their yard but mysteriously are found in the encampments. Businesses are saying the same thing: Noise, mess, personal items, even watching extension cords running from their buildings that they're paying the power in all the way across the road into the encampments. Where is the housing Minister on responsible policy that takes care of the bigger issue. Oh, well just dump it there, and everyone, you absorb all the problems without support, Mr. Speaker.
Imagine this: You're a tour operator in Yellowknife -- and this has been called upon me many times, Mr. Speaker -- tour operators are complaining. They pull up to show the jewel of the NWT, our Northern Arts Centre, and sure enough, the encampment's right where it says bus parking, Mr. Speaker. Shame on this situation. They have to show our guests we roll out the red carpet, they spend thousands and thousands of dollars to come here and they see this. And they feel the pinch and strain, Mr. Speaker, about the disappointment. We're all feeling this, Mr. Speaker.
Now, yesterday the Minister said when I called her to seize action on writing a policy over the weekend and do something, she said, hey, I've only got two people in the policy shop. I listened. Now, with that said, I verified. I went to the NWT Housing web page, and under the policy and planning shelf there's actually not two, not three, not four. All the way to 12 people work in that particular shop. Not two, but 12, Mr. Speaker. So there is talent there, and I believe in them.
Mr. Speaker, as I work towards a close, as I'm running out of time, someone even sent me a picture today that we have permanent structures that are being built behind the Chateau Nova hotel. There's one structure, Mr. Speaker, it looks like a tree House, a watch tower. So when building materials are going missing from the yards, how are they showing up at these semi/non-permanent but turns out to be absolutely permanent encampments, Mr. Speaker? We need the housing Minister not only to have compassion for those who need help; we need the housing Minister through the homelessness to have compassion for the residents who have to absorb the garbage and the mess here, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements.
